Pony Car - Defining The Class

Defining The Class

The 1964 Mustang provided the template for the new class of automobiles. The term itself "was coined by Dennis Shattuck, who was editor of Car Life magazine" at the time. The term "originates from the equestrian sounding Ford Mustang", and may also refer to the Ford Mustang's logo (a galloping pony).

Although the Mustang was based on the platform of the Falcon, it had a unique body (offered as a hardtop coupé and a convertible) with distinctive, "long hood, short deck" proportions. In basic form it was mechanically mundane, with a 170 cu in (2.8 L) six-cylinder engine coupled to a three-speed manual transmission. It carried an attractive base price of US$2,368 that included bucket seats, carpeting, floor shifter, sport steering wheel, and full wheel covers. The Mustang also had an extensive option list offering a range of V8 engines, Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission or four-speed manual gearbox, radios, air conditioning, power steering, and other accessories. A V8 Mustang with all available options would cost about 60% more than a basic model with a six-cylinder engine, which made it an extremely profitable model for Ford.

The requirements for these two-door, four passenger capacity models were therefore set:

• Stylish and sporty styling that included "long hoods, short decks, and open mouths"
• Assembled from "off-the-shelf" mass production components
• Affordable base price (under $2,500 — in 1965 dollar value)
• Wide range of options to individualize each car
• Youth-oriented marketing and advertising.

While most of the pony cars offered more powerful engines and performance packages, enough to qualify some into muscle car territory, a substantial number were sold with six-cylinder engines or ordinary V8s. For the most part, the high-performance models saw limited sales and were largely limited to drag racing, road racing, or racing homologation purposes.